The bumpy track of Sebring beckons the three full season IMSA Aston Martin's next weekend (UPDATED)
Friday, March 12, 2021
From the five Aston Martin Racing Vantage race cars entered into the opening rounds of the 2021 IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship and supporting Michelin Pilot Challenge Series from Daytona back at the end of January, just three such cars move on to the next round at Sebring next weekend.
Gone has the TF Sport prepared AMR Vantage GTD after their inaugural and stand alone run out in the Weathertech Sportscar Championship leaving just the full season #23 Heart of Racing car in that event. Over in the GT4 Michelin Pilot Challenge the Notlad Racing Vantage is not full season entry in that series as their main focus remains in the SRO GT America and GT4 America Series and that leaves the two full season entries from both Archangel Motorsport for Alan Brynjolfsson /Trent Hindman in the yellow #7 car and the #09 Automatic Racing AMR for Rob Ecklin Jnr/Ramin Abdolvahabi.
These two GT4 cars compete in the hugely exciting Series made up of thirty-five runners – twenty GT4’s and fifteen TCR cars for their two-hour race on Friday but both teams will be looking for better performances at Sebring that what happened to them at Daytona as the #7 crew had to run a borrowed car from Notlad Racing having ‘cooked’ their engine in Free Practice whereas the Automatic crew received rear end accident damage on one of the many restarts whilst running in a team best position for that four-hour race.
Back to IMSA, and the #23 Heart of Racing Vantage GTD will be piloted by a trio of drivers (as opposed to four for the Rolex 24) with Roman de Angelis and Ian James being joined again by Ross Gunn for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
They will compete in another multi class grid of thirty-five cars made up from the Dpi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM and GTD classes around the former war time airfield and its infamously bumpy 3.75mile circuit. At the end of the season opening Rolex 24, the #23 car achieved its highest finish to date in the Championship with a P5 finish.
Hopefully - those thunder storms will stay away this time as well?!?!
UPDATE
Due to Ramin Abdolvahabi now no longer being available, Brandon Kidd rejoins Rob Ecklin aboard the #09 Automatic Racing Stoner Car Care Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 for the two hour race on Friday. Kidd raced with the team at the Michelin Pilot Challenge four hour opener at Daytona in late January.
Photo credits – IMSA / CSJ Motorsport / Archangel / Automatic / HoRT
Photo credits – IMSA / CSJ Motorsport / Archangel / Automatic / HoRT